Chichester Canal

Posted By Mark on Jul 13, 2013

I loathe this weather. I'm not a hot weather person. I'm really, really looking forward to my trip to Norway in six weeks' time. It can't be this hot in Norway in September. It had better not be. It's not good weather for street photography when it's like this. The light is very bright and the shadows are very dark and metering on the camera is an ever-changing, bloody nightmare. But worse than that is the skimpy clothing people wear (and I can't blame them, of course, because it's hot as I might have mentioned). It's bad enough in less sweltering times swinging your camera someone's way and risking that glance or stare with that withering look of revulsion behind the eyes (if only everyone could understand it's art (ish; your opinion may differ), not perversion – the lament of the street photographer) but when you've got to fight the voice in your head that keeps saying "that's a fairly good shot with a decent story behind it… but that skirt is very short and tempers are even shorter and someone will probably punch you if you take it" then it's a thousand times worse. So castles and other buildings and canals and beaches and events with plenty of shade and playing with the new EF 24-105L IS USM lens are the order of the day for the moment. Stupid weather. Google+: View post on...

The Usual Suspects

Posted By Mark on Jul 12, 2013

The Force

Posted By Mark on Jul 7, 2013

You know it was a good beer festival when you look back at some of the photos taken and realise most people – yourself included, at the time – were far more interested in drinking delicious ales and ciders, chatting with friends, and getting burnt to a crisp under a relentless sun rather than pay attention to the local Jedi group who had turned up just to demonstrate through hovering sticks how the power of battle stations was insignificant next to the power of the Force. Google+: View post on...

The West Country Visit

Posted By Mark on Jul 7, 2013

Many years ago – almost exactly four to be almost exactly precise – my wife and I decided to take a day’s trip to the West Country (that area of the country in the west) and a jaunt around Cheddar Gorge in particular. The plan was to travel for a few hours to it, spend several hours in it, and travel back; the plan failed horribly. The route we chose – the supposed fastest one – was beset every few hundred metres it seemed by breakdowns and accidents (other people, somewhat thankfully, not us) and so our several hours at the tourist attraction became less than one as we had a pressing engagement that required us to return home. Fast forward to the beginning of last week and we decided to return. There was a good reason to return; when you buy a ticket for the various caves and museums at Cheddar that ticket is good for ten years. We wanted to complete all the things we’d had to skip on our previous trip. And, if we were going to go to Cheddar then why not extend the stay for a few days and take in the historical sights of Bristol and Bath at the same time? That was our thinking so that’s what we did. We selected Weston-super-Mare as the base of operations for no other reason than we’d not been there and it sounds pretty funky. Weston-super-Mare One of the first things you discover about Weston-super-Mare is that it has a sandy beach. You get to discover this long before you see the beach as the wind whips up the top layer of said beach and makes continuous and often successful attempts to insert that layer of sand into your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. If you’re wearing a skirt (I wasn’t) or loose-fitting shorts (again, no) then you might want to clench your buttocks as you battle the omnipresent off-shore gale too in order to prevent some uncomfortable, rough rubbing a bit later on. Unless you like that sort of thing. Weirdo. The next thing you discover about Weston-super-Mare is that the sandy beach extends a long way out and at some fair distance away the sand becomes wet and muddy. This level of the beach then extends further out towards the horizon where – if the sun is shining – you’ll see reflections on the surface of something that might just be the sea. However, during our three days in Somerset we weren’t able to ascertain if this really was the case or if the mud simply underwent a process that made it shinier the...

Public Displays Of Affection

Posted By Mark on Jun 22, 2013

It's interesting to see the different ways in which people show affection or react to public displays of affection while on the street. Here we have a couple who are madly in lust with one another and who couldn't care less who sees them. And why should they? Good for them! And there to the right is James who feels a little differently about things. James looks absolutely mortified. But then, James is being followed closely by a small, black, wheeled robot proclaiming its love for James in a shrill, electronic voice. James has probably been tinkering with the robot's emotion circuits and is now paying the price. Oh James, you silly person! #StreetPhotography   +StreetPhotography curated by +Maria Roco  and +Tatiana Parmeeva  Google+: View post on...